Matthew Donley didn’t know his life would change when he attended an event at MiraCosta College featuring three local manufacturing firms. He just knew he was fascinated with outer space.
Donley, who says he is obsessed with space exploration, connected with Blue Marble’s representative. He was soon hired as an electromechanical technician at Blue Marble.
“It’s pretty wild,” Donley said of the process that led to his job. “There’s a large aspect of luck. But when it came around, I was ready. I feel very lucky.”
Chris Ing, who handles industry outreach and workforce development at MiraCosta College, said the event resulted from a request by the Surface Mount Technology Association, which is dedicated to advancing the electronics manufacturing industry. Ing said the event was part of the college’s effort to connect with local companies.
“It underscores what we aim to do through our programs and through the industry outreach that directly benefits students,” Ing said.
Donley has a certificate in engineering from TCI, but he said representatives from Blue Marble were more interested in his personality.
“They mentioned they were looking for curious people who want to do hard things,” he said.
Donley said in his job interview with Blue Marble, he demonstrated his capstone project for his engineering class – an autonomous prospector control system that controls a model rocket.
“It’s really a passion project,” Donley said. “It showed I was passionate about it.”
Donley said that when Blue Marble needed to hire another employee, they turned to Donley. He recommended Ryan Wilkerson-Lopez, another TCI student, who is now working for Blue Marble.
Ing said the connection with Blue Marble will benefit MiraCosta College students.
“Now we’ve got this well-developed relationship with a local company, with local TCI graduates as part of their workforce,” he said.
